Lean On Me
by KoniGeorghion
Summary: Hermione and Harry have been dating for almost a year. So far things have been great, but when they return to Hogwarts for 7th year, Hermione starts to feel alone. Can she help it if the one she turns to for comfort provides more than she bargained for?
1. Pain Chasing Image

(A/N: Okay, here we go. Just to let you know, I'm not going to have A/Ns in every chapter. I'm not doing a disclaimer for every chapter either. Sorry, but no. Now, let me just tell you right now. This is a Hermione/ Ron fic, and yes, I make Harry look like a royal ass. I don't hold anything against Harry, I just needed him to be a butt for the story. So Sorry for you Potter lovers out there.  
Okay, the story takes place during Hermione, Ron, and Harry's last year at Hogwarts. They are all 17. So far, there is only 1 made-up character—Amy. As far as I know there won't be anymore, but if there are…if you don't recognize the name, I probably made him/her up. So—On with the show!!)

* * *

Look! It's Harry Potter!" 

"Harry Potter? Really?"

"Harry, look over here!"

"Harry, can you sign this for me?!"

17-year-old Harry stared with an open mouth at the group of girls standing outside the entrance to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He looked over his shoulder at Ron Weasley, who just winced and pushed Harry into the crowd of girls. Harry stumbled, but was caught by twenty pairs of hands. The girls started squealing and pulling at Harry's clothes. Before Ron could run in and get him out of the crowd, Harry's cloak had been torn off along with his sweater. Ron pulled him out of the group of girls and they ran to a boy's bathroom down the hall. They slammed through the door and skidded to a stop.

"What was that?!" Harry panted as he leaned his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"That, my friend, was a man's bloody paradise…" Ron gasped; his face red as he wiped his bloody hand on his pants. He examined the small cut on his finger then wiped it on his pants again and promptly forgot about it. Harry ran his hand through his normally messy hair and gave his head a quick shake. He retucked in his shirt and fixed his tie. Ron glanced in the mirror over Harry's shoulder.

"Dammit." He muttered, looking at his hair which was sticking up in every direction, and his shirt was wrinkled and slightly ripped on the shoulder. He quickly threw some water on his hair to tame it a little and turned away from the mirror.

"Harry? Ron! Are you two alright?" A girl's voice screamed through the door, pounding on it with all her might. "They're gone! Are you two okay? Harry?"

Harry walked over to the door and pulled it open. Hermione Granger fell right into Harry's arms.

"Oof! Hehe…um, hey." She said, kissing his cheek.

"Hey," He grinned returning her kiss with one of his own and started to back her against the wall. "I missed you Mione…" He muttered as he kissed her cheek. Ron rolled his eyes.

"Here it comes," He moaned under his breath. Hermione flushed red and pushed Harry off gently.

"Not now, we're in the middle of the boy's restroom." She pulled him out of the bathroom to stand outside and wait for Ron. He emerged a few minutes later with his hand wrapped in a paper towel.

"Hey Ron." She said, smiling until she saw his hand. "What did you do?!" She gasped, pulling her small hand from Harry's grip and grabbing Ron's.

"Ow! Hermione, watch it, that hurts you know." Ron said as Hermione examined his hand.

"You better go see Madam Pomfrey." She told him, after examining the hand closely.

"It's fine—just a scratch—"

"Go see Madam Pomfrey."

"Herm—"

"Go see Madam Pomfrey." She said, slipping her hand back into Harry's and turning away from Ron. "We'll see you in the Great Hall in a few minutes!" She called over her shoulder.

"Yeah, go see Madam Pomfrey, mate!" Harry called, grinning, as he pulled Hermione towards the Great Hall.

"Alright…" Ron breathed, watching as Hermione walked away, her hand slipped through the crook of Harry's arm. He couldn't help but imagine himself in Harry's place, holding Hermione in his arms and kissing her. He shook off the thought and trudged up to the Hospital wing, squeezing his bloody hand tightly, as if feeling pain would make Hermione's image disappear from his mind.


	2. Rollercoaster of Emotion

"Harry, stop it." Hermione wiggled out of Harry's grasp as he kissed her neck in the middle of the Great Hall. "Not here, not now." Harry just growled low in his throat and led her over to the Gryffindor table.

"Hey Harry!" Seamus and Dean called from the head of the table.

"Hey Guys!" Harry let go of Hermione's hand and left without even saying goodbye. He just walked off, leaving her alone. She looked up and down the table, and seeing no one she wanted to sit with, sat at the end alone. A few minutes passed before she felt someone come up behind her.

"Hey Hermione," Ron swung his legs over the bench and sat beside her. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. How's your hand?" Hermione snapped her gaze away from Harry and his friends so she could look at Ron. He shrugged and held up a bandaged hand.  
"Ronny!" A female voice called from the doors of the Great Hall. Ron looked up and got out of his seat just in time to catch his girlfriend, Amy, flying at him.

"Hey Amy." He grunted as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his face.

"Whatcha doin?" She said, pulling away and looking at Hermione for the first time. Hermione couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy at seeing Ron with another girl. Amy's smile flickered for a second, but she broke into a huge fake grin when she saw Hermione stand up.

"Hermione! Hello! I didn't see you there!" She scooted closer to Ron and put her arm around his waist.

"Um, excuse me. Hello Amy, Goodbye Ron." She picked up her bags and walked away from them.

"Herm—Bye." Ron's shoulders slumped as he watched Hermione push open the door to the Great Hall and disappear behind it.

"HELLO—Earth to Ronny." Amy waved her hand in front of his face, making him snap back to attention. "Are you going to sit there and stare after that snobby little bitch or are you going to come sit with me?"

"She's not a snobby little bitch." Ron replied, but shrugged and picked up his books to follow her anyway. She flipped her blonde, straight hair over her shoulder and slipped her hand into Ron's. "C'mon Love, let's go."

* * *

Hermione pushed open the door to the Great Hall and walked out. She walked up the stairs into Gryffindor tower and threw her books onto a couch in front of the fire. She flopped down on the couch and pulled her hands up to her knees. _What the bloody hell is wrong with me? _She thought, sighing and shaking her head. _You like Ron, _a little voice responded in the back of her mind. 

"I do NOT like Ron. We're just friends—just friends!" She said firmly, a little too loud, because the first years playing wizarding chess across the room turned around and stared at her. She sighed and grabbed her books, taking them upstairs to her dormitory. She stopped right outside the doorway as she heard Lavender and Ginny whispering in their room.

"He is so gorgeous!" She heard Lavender squeal.

"I know, Harry has definitely gotten much better looking over the summer…those big eyes…" Padama breathed.

"…that hair…"

"…that body…" They moaned again before Hermione turned the knob and entered the room.

"Now that you're done fantasizing about my boyfriend…" She said, throwing her books onto her dresser and pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Lavender and Ginny just stared at her, open mouthed as she went behind a screen and changed out of her school clothes. She grabbed her broomstick, which she'd gotten over the summer from Ron, and ran out the door. As she walked down the hallway, disgusted about walking into a conversation about her boyfriend, she started thinking about Ron. What could he possibly see in that cow he called his girlfriend? She stopped and shook her head before thinking, _That was cruel. He sees in her what Harry sees in me. _But what did Harry see in her? He'd hardly written to her from the Dursley's over the summer, and on the first day back, he'd gotten a quick snog, then left to go hang out with his friends. She sighed, slumping her shoulders a bit, before heading out to the Quidditch pitch.

* * *

After eating a quick dinner with Amy, Ron said he had to go upstairs to catch up on some sleep. He kissed her goodnight by the Ravenclaw portrait hole and saw her inside, but instead of going to Gryffindor tower, he went out to the Quidditch pitch. He was kind of surprised to see somebody was already there, flying around and throwing a Quaffle as far as she could, then zooming after it to catch it.

"You're getting better." He yelled up at the figure. Hermione swung her broom around and laughed when she saw Ron on the field below her.

"Hey, where's Amy?" She said as she landed.

"Common room…" He said awkwardly. "You looked really good up there. I guess giving you that broom was a pretty good idea."

"Yeah, since I left Headquarters, I've been practicing every day." She said, and he noticed, even in the fading sunlight that her face was flushed and her eyes shining.

"Well you look good." Ron said clumsily. There was an awkward silence for a moment or two before Hermione shrugged and threw her leg over the broom once again, hovering about a foot off the field. She hesitated for a moment before reaching her hand down to Ron.

"You want to go for a ride?" He laughed and waved her off, but she stuck her hand out again. "C'mon, it'll be fun." So he shrugged and took her hand, hoisting himself onto the broom behind her. He put his arms around her small waist and held on tight as they zoomed up above the Quidditch field.


	3. A Kiss Wasted

"Merlin Hermione!" Ron yelled into her ear as the broom rocketed up into the sky. "Slow down!" He wrapped his arms tighter around her waist and leaned forward. Hermione laughed and, instead of slowing down, sped up. She shot up into the sky—higher than she'd ever gone before. Ron squeezed his eyes shut and muttered, "You're gonna get us killed!"

"Oh c'mon Ron, you know you're enjoying it, loosen up!" She laid her hand over his, which was still wrapped around her waist and they both laughed. After a few dips and dives, Hermione finally let the broom float back down to earth.

* * *

"Blimey Hermione! That was—er—refreshing…" Ron said, shaking his head, trying to get his ears to quit popping. Hermione grinned and picked the broom up out of the grass.

"I love flying. It's so fun! I never knew it could be this exhilarating! And the view—wow, the view alone is amazing." She said as they walked back to the castle. She slowed down, then stopped and turned to Ron.

"Why did you teach me how to fly? I mean, why a broom? For the past six years I've refused to learn to ride, and now—out of nowhere, you get me a broom. Why?" Ron was thankful it was dark out so Hermione couldn't see him turn pink. He shrugged.

"I watched you watching Fred and George and Ginny over the summer. You said you didn't want to fly, but you looked so alone down on the ground. I thought you might like it—and you obviously did." He started to walk back to the castle, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Thank you—" She whispered, then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. Ron gasped, but soon had his hands slipped onto the small of her back, pulling her closer. She lingered for a moment, then stepped back. As she did, her eyes grew wide, as though realizing what she had done. "Ron—I—" She stuttered when she saw the shocked look on Ron's face. She gave a short squeak before grabbing her broom and running off towards the castle. Ron just stood there for a minute with his hand on his mouth where she'd kissed him, smiling a small, dreamy smile.

"What's with you Weasel?" A voice from behind him made him jump and jerk his hand off his face. He whipped his head around just in time to see Malfoy and his cronies emerge from the bushes. "Dreaming about your little Mudblood girlfriend? Oh wait—she's not your girlfriend is she? She's Potter's…" He grinned maliciously as he and Crabbe and Goyle circled Ron. Ron turned in place; following Malfoy's every move as he tried to keep up with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Go stuff yourself Malfoy—" Ron hissed.

"Yes…I see how it is now. Potter has everything you ever wanted—…money…fame… the looks…and now the girl. You're jealous…" Malfoy said with a sneer. Ron shook his head and denied it all before Malfoy rolled his eyes and motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. "He's not worth the effort—he's just Potter's stupid second…he's not worth much." Then they disappeared as fast as they came, throwing insults and sneers over their shoulders. As Ron watched them disappear over the hill, he remembered what had been said. _"…Potter has everything you've ever wanted…the girl…you're jealous…he's just Potter's stupid second… not worth much…" _He shook his head, trying to forget. _It's true you know, _He thought to himself, _you're just his backup, his second…_

"I'm worth more than you think…" Ron said, not to anyone specific, just to himself. He cracked his knuckles and stormed off to Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hermione was running up into her dorm. She burst through the door and threw herself on her bed. _"What have I done?! I kissed Ron! What am I doing? I have a boyfriend—oh god, Harry! What if Ron tells him?!" _Hermione threw the broom onto her dresser and flopped down onto the bed.

"Holy crap, what have I gotten myself into?" She muttered, grabbing her pillow and rolling over, hugging it close to her. After about 20 minutes, Hermione had fallen asleep and was dreaming of Ron.

The next morning she rolled over and blinked as bright light spilled in through the window.

"Ugh—" She sighed, sitting up. She was slightly stiff, and her clothes where wrinkled since she had forgotten to change into pajamas the night before. She was about to stand up and get changed when she remembered the kiss. She rolled her eyes and fell back onto the bed, shoving the pillow over her face. With the pillow muffling the sound, she screamed as hard as she could.

As she did, Ginny and Lavender walked in.

"Merlin! Hermione are you alright?" Ginny squealed, throwing her books on her bed and sitting on the edge of Hermione's. "What's wrong?" Hermione sat up and lightly pushed Ginny away.

_I'm in love with your brother and I'm going out with his best friend…_She thought before plastering on a fake smile and saying, "Nothing. Got to go, Bye!!"

She ran out without another word.

* * *

Ron slammed into Gryffindor tower about three minutes after Hermione ran out. He'd been out all night thinking about the night's events. He had fallen asleep in the library and had just been woken up by the librarian and kicked out. Ginny and Lavender had come down from their dorms and were lounging around on the couches in the common room.

"Ron!" Ginny said, watching as he made a beeline for the boy's dormitories. "What's wrong with you? And what's wrong with Hermione? Where've you been?" Ron spun around on his heel.

"Nothing's wrong. Where's Hermione? Where's Harry?" He said gruffly.

"Hermione just left a few minutes ago, and I think Harry's in the Great Hall.

"Which way did Hermione go?" He said, starting back towards the portrait hole.

"Towards the Great Hall I think." Lavender said, batting her eyelashes and smiling at Ron. Ron gave her his well-known (and loved) cocked eyebrow. She melted and fell back into her chair, her eyes rolled back in her head. Ginny just looked over at Ron with a disgusted look on her face. Ron rolled his eyes and walked out. He went towards the Great Hall, but instead of going in, he took the doors leading out of the school. After a few more minutes of walking, he found himself in front of Hagrid's hut. The door was closed, windows shuttered, and Fang's bark couldn't be heard, signaling Hagrid wasn't there.

"Damn." Ron cursed quietly. He heard a rustling sound behind him. He turned around and gulped.

"Ron?"


	4. Burning Novels

"Ron?" Hermione poked her head out from around the corner of Hagrid's cabin. Sitting on the steps leading to the side door, she was leaning on her forearms, which were draped over her knees. Her cloak and sweater were thrown untidily over a barrel at the bottom of the steps, leaving her in just her white school blouse and blue skirt. Her Gryffindor tie was loosened, hanging around her neck, and her collar was unbuttoned, showing much more skin than she usually showed during class time. She'd pulled her hair up into a messy bun at the base of her neck, so there were pieces of hair in her face. From the look on her face, Ron could tell she was confused—angry even, so he took caution. He walked over and sat down on the step below her. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Nothing, I was just coming to see if you were okay. Lavender and Ginny seemed kind of concerned. Uh—so was I…" He said, putting his bag down by the barrel and taking off his cloak, throwing it over Hermione's.

"I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be fine? I'm perfectly fine!" She said, looking at her hands and cracking her knuckles. Before he realized what he was doing, Ron had taken his hand and laid it over hers; the cracking ceased.

"You're fine…" His voice faded. He didn't know what kind of answer he'd expected her to give. She'd just kissed another guy—her boyfriend's best friend—_her _best friend. The cheesy fake smile faded off her lips as she stared at Ron's hand resting over hers. She slipped one hand out from under his and hesitated before putting it on top. She looked up at him and gave him a somewhat awkward smile.

"I'm fine—I swear. I mean—it was—it was just a kiss…right? It didn't mean anything…" Her voice trailed off as she looked over the side of the hill where Hagrid's hut was situated. She felt Ron stiffen slightly, then draw his hand away from hers. He leaned his elbows on his knees sighed heavily—once—once was all it took for her to tell that he was upset.

"Yeah—just a kiss…it didn't mean shit." Ron said, staring off into the distance and running a frustrated hand through his hair. Hermione was somewhat hurt. She stood up, picked up her robes and bag and turned to Ron.

"C'mon. Let's go get something to eat." She said, offering him her hand. He hesitated for a moment before standing up, without her aid, and grabbing his things. Hermione let her hand drop back to her side.

"Let's go." They walked down the path together, not touching, not saying a word.

* * *

A few weeks passed. Neither one of them mentioned the kiss again, although both thought of it daily. Hermione lay on her bed in her room a few nights before Christmas, looking through her diary. She sighed. So many of these entries were concerning Harry….

_Dear Diary, _

_Today was an okay day. I finished my Essay for Snape—I think it may be a little long. I wrote six pages of parchment instead of three. Oh well—too bad. Harry seems so distant nowadays. I can't seem to find out what's going on. He still walks me to class everyday and we're still close, but it's not that same. I don't know what to do…oh well…._

_Dear Diary, _

_Harry is so sweet…I think he's finally going to open up to me! I'm so happy. He apologized for being so short with me for the past few months. Then he gave me a yellow rose—my very favorite flower! What a great day…._

_Dear Diary, _

_Harry is driving me crazy! He won't sit with me during Lunch period anymore! He insists on sitting with Seamus and Dean and the rest of the Quidditch team. Thank goodness for Ron, who's never far away. Too bad he's usually busy with Amy, so I'm stuck with Lavender and Ginny. Not that I mind, but they aren't Ron…I mean Harry…I mean-- to come to think of it, nowadays I'd rather be with Ron. It may be time to end this pathetic attempt at a relationship…_

Hermione closed the book and rolled over onto her forearms so she could lie on her bed and look out the window at the same time. There was a blanket of snow covering the ground and the trees. Hagrid's cabin looked like something out of a fairytale; the puffs of smoke bellowing from his chimney against the powdery background of the mountains and the black starry sky looked like a picture perfect wonderland. She smiled, thinking of the post cards her parents sent her for Christmas every year. They had scenes like this on the front with cute little messages written inside in her father's untidy scrawl. As she was lying around thinking, she started to get hungry. She looked at her watch; twelve thirty. She groaned and sat up, shoving her feet into her slippers that Mrs. Weasley had made for her last year. They had holes in the toes, but Hermione loved them anyway because they were warm and reminded her of the Burrow. She took a few minutes to rub her arms to try to warm up before tiptoeing through the dormitory (so she wouldn't wake Lavender) and down into the portrait hole.

* * *

Ron sat in front of the fire in the common room, twirling his wand between his fingers, trying to finish a book that Amy suggested he read. It was horribly mushy, boring, and unmistakably—Amy. Romance—that's all she ever thought about. He groaned and threw the book down onto the sofa as he came to a part where the heroine made love to her rescuer. As an after thought, he took the book and hurled it into the fireplace. _Amy's gonna kill me for that. _He thought before shrugging and covering his face with his hands again. _Oh well….too bad for me. _He heard footsteps on the stairs behind him, so he turned to see who it was.

"Hey Ron, I didn't think anyone was still up." Hermione said as she padded down the stairs. She looked so attractive in her reindeer pajama bottoms and an old oversized t-shirt Ron recognized as his own, one he'd lent to her in their fifth year. He also noted the slippers she was wearing were ones his mother had made. They had huge holes in the toes and were almost worn down to nothing. He grinned at her.

"Yeah, I'm up. Nice slippers." He said, motioning to her feet. She blushed and looked at them.

"Shut up. They're warm and I love them." She said, walking down and flopping down on the sofa beside him. "What are you up to?" She asked, watching as the flames licked at the edges of the romance novel Ron had been forced to read. "What is that?!" Ron's ears turned red and he shrunk down into his seat.

"…novel of Amy's….made me read it…" He muttered as Hermione whispered a spell to put out the fire.

"Accio um…_novel_…" She said with a playful smile on her lips as she turned to Ron. Amy's charred but readable novel zoomed into her outstretched hand and she flipped through the pages. She burst into laughter as she read some of it aloud.

"Oh Ron, you have _got_ to be joking. Amy can't be—she wouldn't make you read this filth…would she?" Ron nodded and sunk down farther in his chair. Hermione laughed as she pointed her wand at the fire. Flames shot out of the end and into the fireplace, starting a huge blaze. "Will you do the honors or will I?" Hermione asked, offering Ron the book.

"I'll do it." He muttered, then took the book from her hands and chucked it into the fire again.


	5. You'll Only Hurt Yourself

By the time the book had been reduced to ash, Hermione was really hungry.

"Ron? Do you want to sneak down to the kitchens with me? I'm starving."

"Sure. Are you sure you're warm enough?" He noticed Hermione's arms were wrapped around her, and she was rubbing them with her hands. Without another word, he slipped his sweatshirt over his head and handed it to Hermione. She hesitated before accepting it and slipping it over her own. It was still warm, and Hermione felt a rush of comfort surge through her. Ron smiled at her and they left the common room for the kitchens.

* * *

Hermione and Ron were walking back from the kitchen, their arms full of food when Ron stopped. When Hermione turned to see what he was doing, she saw that he was staring at a circular wooden door with his eyebrow cocked and his eyes questioning. He walked slowly towards the door, and Hermione followed him.

"Ron? Are you alr—" He held his finger to his lips to quiet her, then stepped closer to the door. She stopped as she heard voices coming from the other side of it.

"She doesn't know. Merlin, I hate doing this to her Amy…"

"Harry, Love, you don't _like_ her anymore—you **love** _me_."

"I do—but Hermione—and Ron—they are my best friends—I—" He was cut off by what sounded like a very passionate kiss. Ron glared at the door while Hermione stared at him with a shocked expression on her face. She dropped all the food she was holding.

"Did you hear that?" Harry's voice said from the other side of the door.

"Nothing—I heard nothing…" Amy replied, she sounded frustrated. A moment passed before Ron and Hermione heardwhat sounded like a bed creaking. Ron stepped closer to Hermione and put his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at him and shook her head in disbelief.

"Amy, I can't do this. It's wrong—Hermione and Ron are my best friends. Can't we just tell them about us?"

"Harry---"

Ron's grip on Hermione's shoulders tightened. Hermione sighed and bit her bottom lip. It surprised them both when she walked up to the door, put a hand on the knob, and pushed it open.

What they found shocked them. Amy was sitting on a huge bed—a huge _unmade_ bed—a bed that had just been _used_. Amy was (previous to Hermione barging in on them) lying across the bed in nothing but a t-shirt, and Harry was standing by the bed with his pants, but no shirt on.

"Amy? What the bloody hell is this?" Ron yelled from behind Hermione, dropping all the food he was holding. He walked past Hermione, into the room and stood, towering over a shocked Amy. A biscuit rolled across the floor, finally coming to a halt at Hermione's feet.

"H-Harry?" She said softly, her voice cracking. Ron stopped yelling and turned around. He'd completely forgotten she was there. She stood by the door, pale as a ghost, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes with the look of a woman deceived flashing in them.

"Hermione? I thought you were in bed!" Harry said, jumping off the bed and starting to walk over to her. Within seconds, Ron had bounded across the room, blocking Harry from her.

"You have no right—" Harry said pushing Ron away.

"At this point I have more than you do…" Ron hissed before he swung his arm back and punched Harry square in the jaw. Harry fell to the floor—flabbergasted that his best friend of seven years had just hit him. Amy ran to his side, looking up at Ron with a disgusted look on her face.

"We are so over." She said while she held an angry Harry to her chest. Ron looked at her with his famous—_Are you bloody insane?—_look.

"No, really? I'd never have guessed." He spat before Hermione came over and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Ron." Everyone stopped and looked up at her. Harry started to walk towards her, but she took a step back.

"Why didn't you just tell me?" She said, looking at him with an odd expression on her face.

"I didn't want to hurt you." Harry replied. They stood staring at each other, expressionless, for a long time.

"Don't worry—you didn't." Hermione whispered, "You only hurt yourself." Hermione slipped her hands behind her neck and unhooked a chain that hung around her neck. A ring was dangling off the end. She let the ring slide off the chain and fall to the floor before hooking it back around her neck. "There's your ring. Don't worry Harry—you didn't hurt me. I'll see you later." She pulled Ron up off the floor and walked out. Before he followed her, Ron turned and looked at Amy, who was still on the floor at Harry's feet. He then turned to Harry.

"She has a bigger heart than you'll ever understand, and you better be happy it isn't broken, or I would have killed you. I hope you're happy with—this." His lip curled as he motioned to Amy. She glared up at him and hissed a curse under her breath as he walked out after Hermione.


	6. Warmth, Friendship, and Comfort

Hermione slid down the grassy slope towards the Lake. She lost her footing and tumbled the rest of the way down. As she fell, her hand hit a sharp boulder and cut her hand.

"Oww…" She moaned, sitting up and holding her hand to her chest. She started to cry—for herself, for her hand, for her horrible timing and bad luck and—for Ron. _Ron!_ She forgot her sorrows for a moment to think, _I shouldn't have left him there with Harry. He'll kill him for messing around with Amy! Holy Merlin!_ She started to get up, but as she did a voice came from behind her.

"'Mione?" She turned around and looked up the slope. Ron stood there, breathing heavily, beet red and with nothing but a t-shirt on out on this cold winter night. She stepped back, away from the slope, but lost her footing and fell back into the Lake. The water was like ice—cold—freezing. Luckily the water was shallow and Ron—who'd skidded down the side of the slope—splashed in and got her out in a minute or two. He carried her, both of their teeth chattering, back to the castle.

* * *

Instead of taking her back to the dormitories, he took her down a long hall. She picked her wet head up off his shoulder and looked to where they were going.

"Warmth, friendship, comfort…" He muttered a few times as he slowed his pace. A large wooden door popped up out of thin air. _The Room of Requirement,_ Hermione thought as he walked towards the door._ He's taking me to the Room of Requirement. Thank you Ron…_

"Thank you Ron…" She murmured before leaning on his shoulder and closing her eyes again. He said something in reply, but she couldn't make out what it was. She felt him open the door, close it, place her gently on something soft and warm. She heard him moving around the room, muttering to himself. After a few minutes, he nudged her and she opened her eyes.

"'Mione, I need to look at your hand okay?" He whispered. She nodded, then closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the pillow. She felt Ron's hand caress hers, running his over her own damaged one. After a few minutes, he'd poured a cooling liquid over it and wrapped it in gauze.

"Thanks Ron." She muttered before she let her eyes close and she drifted off to sleep.

Ron jerked his eyes open and sat up. _What in the devil…? _He thought, looking around. His eyes fell on Hermione, sleeping soundly, yet fitfully. She jerked and cried out.

"..Don't leave me…" She moaned, pulling herself into a ball and shivering. The blanket Ron had thrown over her earlier was on the ground next to the couch she was laying on. He jumped out of the chair he'd been asleep in and hurried over to her. He grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her firmly.

"Hermione, Hermione! Wake up; you're having a bad dream! Hermione!" He shook her again. Her eyes popped open. Her body—rigid five minutes ago, collapsed and she fell against him. He hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his arms around her small frame and let her cry onto his shoulder. Her arms, pinned between his chest and her own, grabbed at his shirt.

"Don't leave me, Ron, please don't leave me."

"I'll never leave you Hermione—never in a thousand years." He let her cry for a few moments more, then laid her back onto the sofa and threw the blanket over her. She had calmed down now and was simply staring at the floor, ashamed of losing control in front of Ron. He walked over to a counter in the corner of the room and started to fix some cocoa for them. Hermione looked around the room for the first time, taking everything in. The room was small, but cozy; similar to the Burrow. The couch she was laying on had a sweet yet old odor, and the chair Ron had occupied had a doily draped over the back. The quilt she had hugged so tightly to her chest during her crying spell was soft and warm, made from scraps of fabric and tiny stitches. A small fire was blazing in the brown and red brick fireplace and children's drawings were hung on the wall. Bookshelves lined one wall—made of dark mahogany—standing out in this comfortable mismatched room. The scrap rugs lying on the floor were worn, faded, and absolutely welcoming. Hermione snuggled down under the quilt and watched Ron in the small kitchenette while her warmed milk and stirred chocolate mix into it. Within a few minutes he was back at her side with a mug of steaming hot chocolate.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked as he sat next to her on the sofa. She slipped her hands around the mug, which warmed her fingers and made her feel even more relaxed and comfortable.

"It—It was the same dreams I had when we were younger. Voldemort came back and took you or Harry. Only, this time was worse. I don't know why—maybe it was just the shock of seeing Amy and Harry in bed together that did it." She said, taking a long sip of chocolate after she was done. Ron was surprised at her directness—her lack of emotion considering the subject.

"You're okay then? With walking in on Harry and Amy—well, you aren't upset?" He stammered out finally. She shook her head and sighed.

"I could tell something was going on. He was pushing me away, he didn't want me near him and I couldn't find out why. I don't know why I'm not more upset—I guess it was because it wasn't Harry that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life." She sighed as Ron looked at her with wide eyes and a heavy heart.

"…I don't know why I'm not more upset—I guess it was because it wasn't Harry that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life." Hermione caught herself just in time. She had been about to say, _It wasn't Harry I wanted to be with for the rest of my life…it was you…it still is and always will be…" _She watched as Ron's expression changed from one of confusion to one of shock. She saved herself by interrupting his thoughts.

"What about Amy?" She whispered, running a hand over the rim of her mug.

"What about her? We're over—I was going to break up with her tomorrow actually. I was suspecting she was seeing somebody else. I just never imagined it was my best friend…" Ron shrugged and looked over Hermione's head at the blazing fire. Before she could stop herself, Hermione had placed her hand on Ron's, which was lying on the couch between them. He didn't push her away, so she stayed and they sat like that for awhile. Hermione looked over at Ron after a few minutes and caught him staring at her.  
"What?" She asked, smiling at him. "Do I have something on my face?" Ron shook his head.

"No, I was just wondering. When you said it wasn't Harry that you wanted to be with…Who did you want to be with if not Harry?" Hermione blushed and said something under breath. "What?" He asked, urging her on.

"Nothing..." She replied, keeping her eyes on the cocoa in the mug.


	7. Cat Fights

The next morning, Hermione walked down to the common room; fresh, pressed, and ready to go. It was the first day of Winter Holidays, so Hermione wasn't surprised when she came down and the common room was empty—all except for one. Harry was sitting on the couch staring into the fire. When he heard her come down the stairs, he looked over at her and stood up.

"Hermione, I—"

"Harry." Hermione held up her hand. He stopped trying to speak and fell back onto the couch. "I'm not heartbroken. I'm not the one that was hurt last night. Ron was—Yes, Ron. You hurt Ron far worse than you hurt me. How do you think he felt? His girlfriend _and_ his best friend together? He felt betrayed. I just—didn't care. To tell the truth, I was relieved. It doesn't matter now. Just—don't bring it up. Let Ron deal with it in his own way." She walked off, leaving Harry on the couch, alone and confused. As the portrait hole closed behind Hermione, Harry sprang up off the couch and looked into the fireplace. Chess set that Ron and he had been playing on two nights before still sat by the couch. He jumped up and swept the set off the table. The pieces scattered all over the floor and rolled under furniture.

"She didn't care?" He growled under his breath, and then swept off, upstairs to confront Ron.

* * *

He emerged about twenty minutes later, red faced and frustrated, but strangely relieved. Ron had given him a piece of his mind, yes, but being the good friends that they were, they had settled it on fair enough terms. Ron had been planning on confronting Amy about her guys on the side and possibly breaking up with her. Harry hadn't wanted to hurt Hermione, but couldn't bring himself to stop seeing Amy. They ended the brief meeting with a handshake and the promise of a truce. Ron followed him out of the common room about five minutes later. He ran up to Harry, who had his cloak on and was about to head down to see Amy in the Great Hall. They spoke in hushed voices, with their heads huddled together for a few moments. Harry finally pulled away, a portrait of shock painted across his face.

"After all I did to you and Hermione, you're asking _me_ for permission?" He asked in disbelief.

"Of course—that's what _friends_ do." Ron couldn't help but stress the word _friends_, but he felt sorry for it almost immediately. Both boys turned red and didn't speak for a moment, but then Harry clapped Ron on the shoulder and nodded.

"Of course—if you deserve anything for Christmas, it's this—go on…with my blessings of course." Ron grinned, nodded, threw on his cloak, and followed Harry downstairs.

* * *

"Granger!"

Hermione turned around at the sound of her name. She saw Amy stalking towards her down the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables in the Great Hall.

"What do you want Cooper?" She asked, rolling her eyes and turned around to face Amy.

"I want **you** to stop messing around with **my **man." Amy said, poking Hermione in the shoulder with her index finger. "He's mine now. He never liked you. You can have that dirty piece of shit I used to call my boyfriend—I've got a better chance with Potter than you do anyway." Hermione's eyes grew huge and all the frustration she'd felt in the past two days turned into searing hot anger.

"What?! **_Your_ man?** Your man my _ASS_! And don't you **DARE** talk about Ron like that! He's the best thing that ever happened to me—the best friend I've ever had! Harry Potter was my boyfriend up until last night—_you _were the second—the girl on the side—you **slut**!" Hermione screamed as she lunged at Amy. Amy fell to the floor as Hermione sat on top of her, crying while pummeling her in the face. She had gotten a few good punches in when she felt someone jerk her off Amy.

"LET ME GO!" Hermione yelled as she took another swing, missing Amy by only a few inches.

"Hermione! C'mon—let's go!" A cracking voice choked into her ear. She struggled as she felt herself dragged out of the Great Hall. Just before she turned the corner, she saw Harry leaning down and comforting Amy, who was still lying out on the floor. Dozens of students surrounded her as Harry tried to stand her on her feet. She caught Hermione's eye as she started to get up. When she did, she turned around and planted a big wet kiss smack on Harry's lips, then smirked in Hermione's direction. Hermione strained to get to her, but someone held her arm firmly and dragged her off to the Gryffindor common room.


	8. The Best Christmas Present

Hermione was dragged into the common room and practically thrown onto one of the couches. She sat up and leaned her forearms on her knees, rubbing her eyes with her hands to try to avoid the tears that were forming from rolling down her cheeks. Ron knelt down in front of her and wrapped his hands around her wrists. Gently but firmly, he pulled her hands away from her face. She looked up at him with red eyes and sniffed. He grinned at her and let go of her wrist just long enough to grab a handkerchief out of his pocket.

"You know, you're cute when you're angry." He whispered, dabbing the tears from her eyes with the corner of the hankie. He offered it to her, and she took it, laughing through her tears.

"I don't know why I'm crying. It's not like it's—It's not like I really _care_ about Harry anymore—it's just when she said that about you and—" She stammered, wiping her face and blowing her nose.

"It's okay, I know what you meant." After a few minutes of silence, he rocked back onto his feet and lifted himself off the floor. Hermione scooted over and he sat on her left on the couch. "I talked to Harry this morning."

"Oh, about _Amy?_" Hermione couldn't help but spit out Amy's name like it was a horrible taste in her mouth.

"Yeah, about _Amy._" He mocked, smiling again. "Harry told me about what happened, and we sort of came to a truce. And we made a bargain…" He shrugged and scooted closer to Hermione. She looked up at him quizzically.

"What kind of bargain?" She asked, tucking the hankie into her jeans pocket.

"Harry's really seems to like Amy, and I'm guessing she likes him—if she doesn't, well, that's not my problem. Well Harry felt bad, because he thought that I would be heartbroken over Amy, but I wasn't. He was kind of surprised when I told him that I was about to break up with her. He was even _more_ surprised when he found out why I was going to. We decided that we'd try as hard as we could to get what we wanted and not stand in each others way." Ron snuck a glance at Hermione out of the corner of his eye. She was staring at him with her mouth open. Before speaking, she shifted around on the couch so that she was facing Ron with one foot tucked up under her and the other dangling off the edge of the seat. He hesitated, then decided against speaking and snapped his attention towards the fireplace again.

"Why did you want to break up with her Ron?" She asked. When he didn't respond, she automatically reached her left hand across to his face and turned it towards her. "Why Ron?" She asked again, but softer this time. Hermione looked into his eyes and knew what he meant. He smiled meekly at her and turned bright red, but when she leaned in for a kiss he didn't turn away; in fact, he pulled her closer. As they pulled apart she giggled and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him close and burying her face in his neck.

"What is it?" He asked, flustered and an even brighter shade of red. "What did I do?" Hermione just giggled again. Ron started to laugh, and when she wouldn't respond, he put his hands down to her waist and squeezed—she was unbelievably ticklish, just a touch would send her into a fit of the giggles. "What is it?" He yelled over her loud squeals and laughs and pleading for him to 'Stop Ron! Please!'

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you!" She squealed at last and he let her up. "I was laughing because you looked **so **unsure of yourself right before we—uh—kissed and I thought it was funny…plus I was kind of excited because—well, we kissed and I knew you meant it…" She was cut off as he kissed her again.

About and hour later, Ron sat in the corner of the couch with his arms wrapped around Hermione, who was leaning back onto him with her head on his chest. Her small hands were intertwined in his and as she lay there, her eyes drooping lazily, she remembered.

"Oh Ron!" She said, sitting up and turning towards him. "It's Christmas; I'd completely forgotten!" She got off the couch and ran upstairs. Ron smiled, and for the second time in the past two days, he missed the way her body felt against his—he missed her warmth. He plucked his wand out of his pocket and flicked it.

"_Accio gift,"_ he muttered and then put away his wand. He reached his hand out just in time to catch a small parcel flying towards him. Hermione ran down from her dormitory immediately after. Ron looked up and saw what she was holding; his breath caught in his throat. A small brown owl looked out at him from the cage; its bright eyes shining and its beak clicking away.

"It was in the Animal Shop in Hogsmeade, but it was injured. I've been taking care of him, nursing him back to health. But I don't really want an owl— I have Crookshanks. And I thought since Ginny's pretty much taken Pig, you might want an owl of your own." Ron got up off the couch and walked over to wear Hermione stood at the base of the stairs. He took the cage from her, gently, and looked at the bird inside. He set the cage down on the floor and looked at Hermione. He took her face in his hands and kissed her, loudly, soundly, and deeply. She laughed and looked up at him, catching his hands in hers.

"It's just a bird Ron." She laughed looking up into his deep green eyes.

"It's more than a bird Hermione—It's MY bird. It's a bird from _you _to _me._ That makes it the most wonderful bird in the world. Thank you. I love him…I love you." He kissed her again before wrapping one arm around her waist, sweeping up the bird's cage in his other hand, and walking over to the couch with them both. Setting the cage by the couch, he reached over and grabbed his gift to her. She pulled off the wrappings and gasped when she saw what it was.

"Oh Ron, it's beautiful." She sighed. A stone, emerald green in color, hung on a simple silver chain to form the most beautiful necklace Hermione had ever laid eyes on. Ron held his hand out to her, took the necklace and slipped around behind her to fasten the clasp around her neck.

"It's special. The emerald gives strength to the wearer: the power of friendship. If you ever need me, for anything, no matter how small, I'll know as long as you are wearing that necklace. And I'll come as soon as possible. This way you'll know that you're never alone and there's always someone there for you." Hermione smiled up at Ron and threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you Ron. This has been the best Christmas ever, all thanks to you." He smiled down at her as she gushed and smiled and hugged him. After a few minutes of her admiring the stone, he reached over and grabbed the cage holding the bird.

"What should we name him?" He asked. Hermione shrugged. They thought for a moment.

"Eros?" She mentioned, but Ron wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"Philander?" Ron shook his head again.

"Mike?" Ron laughed loudly and shook his head harder. Hermione mentioned about 10 more names before she came upon one he liked.

"Caradoc?" Ron thought for a minute and they settled on Caradoc, which meant 'Beloved' in Welsh. After Caradoc had been named and Hermione's emerald admired and loved, Hermione and Ron settled back onto their couch; Hermione tucked into Ron's arms once again, and both of them very happy with the biggest Christmas present each of them had gotten that year—each other.


	9. Second Chance

Later that afternoon, Ron and Hermione walked down into the Great Hall. Since neither one of them had gotten anything to eat that morning, they were both really hungry. Nobody was in the Great Hall except Harry, Amy, two first years, a sixth year Slytherin, and Ginny. Ginny motioned for them to come over and sit next to her. After hurrying down the aisle, Ron and Hermione swung their legs over the wooden benches and sat across from Ginny.

"Merlin Hermione, you caused a fuss this morning!" Ginny squealed. Hermione and Ron leaned closer as Ginny filled them in on what had happened after Hermione had been dragged from the room.

"Amy was mad as a wet cat." Ginny began, "After you left, she yelled at Harry, cried, and started screaming at McGonagall when she said she couldn't punish you, Hermione, because she hadn't seen the attack. She only had Amy's word, and seeing as you and Amy aren't the best friends in the world…well…she decided to let you off the hook! Well, Amy didn't like that, so she dragged Harry off into a broom cupboard and screamed at him. I feel so bad for him; he has no right being with that bitch." She looked over at Harry and Amy wistfully—she, as much as she tried to deny it, still liked Harry a great deal, and hated to see him like this. Hermione reached her hand across the table and took Ginny's hand, giving it a squeeze. Ron reached under the table and squeezed her knee before taking her hand and holding it in his own under the table so Ginny wouldn't see. As subtle as his knee squeeze/ hand hold was, Ginny noticed and started grinning.

"Are you two—erm—attached?" She giggled as Ron and Hermione both turned a very deep red. Ginny giggled again and waved her hand at them. "Don't worry, I won't say anything. Anyway—" She said, looking back at Harry and Amy. "I just wish that he would dump her and find somebody else."

"Yeah, so do I." Hermione and Ron said at the same time. They glanced at each other and smiled.

"Harry just needs to straighten out his priorities is all. You know what they say—in order to really appreciate someone you have to have your heart broken at least once. And I think all of us here have experienced that except Harry. But I think it'll happen pretty soon." She said. She scooted closer to Ron and he slipped her arm around her waist, leaning his hand on the bench as Hermione cuddled up against his chest. They sat and talked to Ginny for about ten minutes before Ginny looked over towards Harry and started laughing.

"What?" Ron asked, looking over his shoulder towards where Harry and Amy were sitting. Harry had a look of shocked happiness on his face, and Amy looked like she was about to jump on Hermione again. Hermione grinned and waved in Amy's direction, tilted her head back and kissed Ron near his ear. Surprisingly he didn't blush; he just grinned and looked down at Hermione fondly. He made the mistake of looking up and grinning at Harry, who gave him a thumbs-up sign. Amy saw this and hit Harry in the back of the head with her hand. Then she stood up and stormed out of the hall—leaving Harry alone. Ron hesitated for a moment, then released Hermione's waist and walked over to Harry.

"Hey Mate." He said, sitting down across from him.

"Hey." Harry muttered.

"You _still_ want her?" Ron fiddled with his jacket as he asked the question. Harry snapped his head up, a look of anger on his face. As if coming to a sudden realization, the anger slipped off his face, and was replaced with a look of disgust and shame.

"I don't know what I saw in her." Harry hit the table and leaned his head onto his fist. Ron reached across the table and hesitated before putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"It's okay mate, I know what you mean," He said. Harry lifted his head off the table and looked over at Ron.

"I'm sorry Mate." He whispered. Ron just shrugged and looked up as he felt Hermione's hand brush the back of his neck.

"Are you two—settled?" She asked, sitting next to Ron. Ginny went to the other side of the table and sat next to Harry.

"I owe you an apology too Hermione." Harry said.

"That's alright. Don't worry about it. I'm glad you did it to tell you the truth." She glanced over at Ron, who by this point had taken her hand and was holding it in his, and smiled. They sat around and chatted for awhile before Dumbledore stood up at the teacher's table.

"Students." His voice boomed across the hall. "Since there are so few of us—" He looked at the thirty or so kids that had gathered in the hall and smiled. "—your teachers and I have decided that we will have a little party. We'll just put on some music and let you have fun." With a wave of his hand, the tables disappeared, the lights dimmed and the candles on the walls blazed. Music by the Hobgoblins swept from some unseen place and filled the hall with excitement. The teachers all stood up and walked into the room off the side of the hall and shut the door. Kids gradually started getting up and dancing. Ron held his hand out to Hermione and they walked out onto the floor and started to dance. Hermione wrapped her arms around Ron's neck and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"This is great," She whispered, "The perfect Christmas gift."

"Yeah, I thought so too." Ron leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. When he looked up, he saw Harry and Ginny sitting over at the table still. He turned Hermione so she could watch as well. They saw Harry offer Ginny his hand and lead her out onto the floor. While he didn't hold Ginny as close as Ron was holding Hermione, he held her at a friendly distance. They smiled at each other and talked. Ron started to walk over to them when Hermione stopped him.

"Ron, give him a chance."

"But—"

"I've given him one—you gave Amy one, why is he any different?"

"Because that's my sister…"

"But she'll be good for Harry. She can erase whatever damage Amy might have caused." Ron didn't say anything, he just nodded, but continued to watch Harry like a hawk.


	10. Waking Up With Ronald

(A/N: Okay—I'm not much of a review-responder-to, but I feel the need to respond to ya'lls reviews now. Lemme see….A **bunch** of you said that this story is really good. Well, I just wanted to thank you so very much. This story isn't really all the great (to me anyway) I think my other ones are much better. But this is a little one to relieve stress. Anyway—there was one (or two) people that said this story isn't very realistic. Well, think of what you just said. Oh yeah, we all know that there's REALLY a wizarding school in England—uh huh, yeah right. So, being as this is an unrealistic setting, it would be unrealistic for me to be well, realistic!! So there! But thanks for the input. :-D Thank ya'll very much for your reviews. And I think I'm supposed to dedicate this story to someone named **Katie**. Did I get it right? I hope so. Bye ya'll!!)

* * *

Hermione woke up the following morning with a pounding headache and a numb arm. After the teachers left the party, she, Ron, Harry, and Ginny stuck around for about an hour, and then snuck out of the castle. They went into Hogsmeade, where, somehow, Ron and Ginny managed to get a hold of some Firewhisky. When Ron and Ginny came back, they all got sloshed in the passageway. After 2 shots, even Hermione didn't care whether or not they got caught. About three hours and four bottles of Firewhisky later, they all stumbled (well, the boys stumbled while carrying the girls) back to Gryffindor common room under the Invisibility cloak. Since the boys couldn't go up to the girls' dormitories, Harry and Ron took the girls up into theirs. After a little explaining, Seamus, Neville, and Dean promised not to tell anyone about the little escapade and they all helped Harry and Ron get Ginny and Hermione settled. Seamus slept by Dean so that Ginny could have his bed and Neville was going to sleep on the floor, but Hermione wouldn't let him. She just crawled into bed next to Ron and fell asleep, and he didn't have the heart, or want, to move her. The following morning, Hermione woke up with a pounding headache and a numb arm. She tried to move her arm but found that it was stuck under something. She looked over and saw that it was pinned under Ron's waist. She pushed herself up onto her elbow and leaned over him. With her free hand, she brushed his hair off his face and kissed his neck. 

"Ron…" She whispered.

"Huh? What…?" He rolled over and she slipped her arm out from under him. He looked at her quizzically for a moment, then, remembering why she was there, smiled and put his hand up to her face. He ran a finger along her jaw line, then leaned up and kissed her lightly on the lips.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered, shifting slightly so that she was lying with her head on his chest.

"Fine, I kinda have a headache though." She nuzzled her head into his t-shirt and sighed a contented sigh.

"That's what usually happens when you get trashed." He laughed quietly at her. She punched his playfully then rolled over. As she sat up, she looked over at the bed across from her. Ginny was lying on top of the bed with her hand draped over the side, and Harry was sitting, on the floor, by the bed, leaning against it with his head lying on the edge. His and Ginny's fingers were interlaced and they both were simply lying there staring at each other smiling. Hermione looked over at Ron and grinned, then jerked her head towards Harry and Ginny—big mistake. Ron turned beet red and his grip tightened on her hand. She leaned over him and put her hand on his upper arm.

"Ron…" She said in a soothing voice. She felt him relax almost immediately.

"They're in bed together!" He hissed under his breath.

"So are we. That doesn't mean we _did_ anything. Neither did they, now let them alone." She kissed his cheek before putting her head on his chest once again.

"Damn mate, it's like you're already married." Seamus' voice drifted over from the other bed. He was laying with his head propped up by his hand, watching Hermione and Ron.

"Seamus!" Hermione and Ron yelled at the same time. Seamus had just enough time to jerk his curtain shut and narrowly missed a pillow thrown by Ron.

* * *

About ten minutes later, after Hermione had to drag Ginny away from Harry, the girls snuck out of the boys dorms and ran over to their own. Ginny ran around the room in a frenzy, trying to get dressed and gush about Harry all at the same time. 

"He was _so_ sweet and _so_ kind and I can't _believe_ he was such an asshole to you for the past few weeks. He's been just _so_ understanding and so _sweet_!!! Hermione—I think I'm in love."

"No, really Ginny? I hadn't noticed." Hermione chuckled as she rummaged through her trunk trying to find her new sweater she'd gotten for Christmas from her parents. It was green—Ron's favorite color. "Aha!" She pulled it out from under her _Hogwarts—A History_, which she'd been reading the night before last. She yawned as she pulled the sweater over her head, then turned to brush her bushy hair. She pulled out her wand and muttered a few words. As she did, her hair turned from a mass of frizzy mess to a head full of sleek, shining curls. Ginny, who had pulled on her jeans and hooded sweatshirt, flopped on the bed and started picking at her nails.

"I really don't know what to do Hermione. I'm serious! I like him _so_ much, but he hurt you and Ron doesn't trust him anymore…and I don't know! That devil-woman Amy must have put a curse on him, because my Harry wouldn't hurt a fly, much less his own two best friends!"

"Oh, so he's _your_ Harry now, huh?" Hermione grinned as her friend blushed and apologized.

"He's not MY Harry—he's _our_ Harry…He's just Harry alright?!" Ginny said before slamming out of the room in frustration.

Hermione just laughed as she put in her hoop earrings. She heard footsteps on the other side of the door just before the door squeaked open.

"Hermione?" Ginny poked her head in, her face red and a sheepish grin on her face.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I have a chance?"

"With Harry?"

"Uh huh."

"Definately...if Ron gives you one that is." Hermione grabbed her jacket, tossed Ginny's to her and they ran down into the common room.


	11. What a Shock

"Hey Hermione," Ron met her at the bottom of the stairs. "You ready?" Hermione nodded and pulled on her coat. Ron took one look at her and snorted. "That little thing is all you're going to wear?" Hermione looked down at her coat. Sure, it was a little thin, but it was fashionable. In the past few years, Hermione had gotten very self conscious, and fashion was starting to become the topper on her list of priorities.

"I'll be fine Ron." She said, starting towards the door. He grabbed her wrist and shook his head.

"I don't want you getting sick, because if you're sick, that means I can't come near you, and if I can't come near you, we can't do this." He pulled her towards him and kissed her softly on the lips. He lingered for a minute before pulling away. Looking down at Hermione, he saw that her eyes were still closed and there was a silly smile on her face. He cupped her chin and smiled at her. "Go get another coat." Hermione blushed and pulled her face away from his hands.

"I don't have another one." She whispered. Ron rolled his eyes.

He flicked his wand and muttered, "Accio coat," and within a few seconds, his second coat was flying at them. He caught it and helped Hermione into it. "Warm?" He asked.

"Hot," She wrinkled her nose and shrugged in the coat.

"Always," He said as he put his hand on the small of her back and led her out to the others.

* * *

Harry and Ginny met them outside the doors to the castle and they started off on their way. They walked towards the Forbidden Forest and down around by the lake. As they walked they spoke about graduation and their plans for leaving school. They waved at Hagrid as he passed with his new wife, Olympe Maxime—er, Olympe Maxime-Hagrid, they were heading to the Great Hall for dinner. As they walked, Hermione heard something behind them. Since it was dark outside, the sounds around her made her feel jumpy and nervous.

"Hermione, are you okay? You seem a little—ahh!" As he was bending down to speak to her, someone came up to him from behind and shoved him forward. Harry was also pushed. Hermione and Ginny felt themselves being lifted and slammed against a tree. Ropes flew at them and bound them to it.

"Harry!"

"Ron!" Hermione and Ginny screamed, then went silent as a figure stepped out of the shadows, pointing its wand at Ron. One other figure stood next to her, and another two behind. The one next to her was holding Harry at wand-point.

"Weasley, do us all a favor and shut-up for once in your life." Malfoy sneered at Ginny. She immediately tried to respond, but found that Malfoy had used a Silencing Charm on her. He lips moved, but no words came out.

"Ginny!" Harry and Ron both started to get off the ground, but they were slammed back down again.

"Harry? How could you do this to me? Leaving me for some—" Amy pushed a black hood of her head and exposed her face to Ron, Harry, and the girls. "—embarrassment to wizard-kind. And you—" She turned her wand on Ron now, "—leaving me for some filthy little Mudblood." Ron's face flushed red as he glared at her.

"Shut up Amy." He hissed, and for once in his life, he held his temper. Hermione listened as Amy told the boys her woes, shooting insults at the girls.

"After you two left me high-and-dry, I was walking down the hallway and I found Draco sitting alone. I joined him, we spoke, and we've been inseparable ever since." She looked over at Malfoy and gave him a sultry look. He grinned greedily and took a step closer to her. Ron's eyes got big and he looked as if he was about to gag. "We've gotten very close and Draco has convinced me to—er—join him in the family business." She giggled. Ginny looked over at Harry and whimpered. He heard her, turned, and put onabrave face.

"Don't worry Love, we'll be all right." Malfoy rolled his eyes and shoved his wand under Harry's throat.

"One more word Potter—" Harry backed up into a tree.

"Blast!" He muttered under his breath. Amy flipped her very blonde hair over her shoulder and shoved her wand in Hermione's face.

"I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving with Draco tonight. And I wanted to leave you with a little something to remember me by." She looked for a moment as though she was going to hex her, but then she turned quickly and pointed her wand at Ron.

"_Crucio_!" Ron went stiff for a moment.

"RON!" Hermione screamed, straining against the ropes binding her to the tree. They held fast. All she could do was watch as Ron was tortured. Harry tried to go and help him, but Malfoy knocked him in the head, and he was out cold. Ginny just sat, eyes wide open, tears pouring down her cheeks. Then, all in an instant Ron jerked so violently that his whole body was lifted off the ground. His screams filled the air. For about 30 seconds he twitched and jerked. Ron's eyes rolled back into his head as his body filled with immeasurable pain. Finally, after what seemed to him like hours, his body collapsed and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

"RON!" Hermione screamed again, straining against her bindings. She glared up at Amy.

"YOU EVIL FOUL HEARTLESS BITCH!" She screamed, forgetting for a moment that it was Amy that held the wand that tortured Ron. Amy walked over to Hermione and stuck the wand under her chin. Hermione lifted her head—now very conscious of Amy's wand. As Amy was giving her threats, Hermione eased her wand out from behind her back. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were too busy taunting Ginny and Harry to notice. Hermione glared at Amy.

"_EXPELLIARMUS_!" She yelled. Amy was thrown back away from Hermione. Her wand was pulled from her fingers and fell onto Ginny's lap. Ginny quickly looked to Hermione for help. Hermione muttered the counter charm to the Silencer Malfoy had put her under. As Ginny gained her voice back, she and Hermione slipped out from the bindings and turned on Amy, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Ginny started throwing Bat Bogey Hexes at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, so fast they couldn't even see what hit them. Within a few seconds, Crabbe and Goyle had taken off towards the castle. Malfoy managed to miss most of the hexes. Hermione stood over Amy screaming threats at her, holding her wand threateningly over Amy's face. Harry had started to wake up, and not knowing what had happened, ran over to Hermione.

"Hermione!" He yelled. In the moment that Hermione looked over at him, Amy jumped off the ground, ran over to Malfoy and grabbed him by his cloak. They ran into the Forbidden Forest. Harry and Hermione ran after them, but once they hit the edge of the forest, Malfoy and Amy were gone. Hermione cursed, but ran back to where Ginny was kneeling by Ron. He was a ghastly shade of white and was still unconscious.

"Harry—run and get Dumbledore—and hurry!"


	12. You're the Reason: The End

"'Mione! Ginny! Fred! George! Harry! What are you doing here?" Ron grinned as the five, bundled in heavy jackets andhats,walked through the door. He grimaced as he tried to sit up.

"Oh let me help you!" Hermione rushed forward and put the flowers she was carrying on the end of the bed. She helped Ron sit up, fluffed his pillows, and kissed him lightly on the lips. "How are you? Are you feeling okay? Can I get you anything?" Ron grinned again and put his hand over hers, pulling her down so she was sitting on the bed next to him. She slipped her jacket off, plucked off her hat, and settled herself next to him.

"I'm fine Hermione." He said, then motioned for Fred, George, Ginny, and Harry to sit down as well. Fred and Harry grabbed four chairs and brought them over by Ron's bed.

"St. Mungo's set you up pretty nice didn't they Ronnykins?" George teased as he looked around the room.

"Yeah…You don't even have a roommate! Maybe I should break my neck so I can get a room to myself!" Fred joked and George playfully slapped him on the back of the head. After awhile the twins stopped joking around and calmed down a little. They talked, but after a few minutes, George and Fred decided that had to get to work.

"Time waits for no man!" Fred yelled, throwing his toboggan up into the air. George grabbed him by the arm and dragged him from the room, laughing. Hermione turned, grinning back to Ron. He smiled at her, then looked at Harry and Ginny.

"How are you guys? Harry, how's your head?" Ron asked pulling the covers up some.

"Um—Ron, it's been about a month, its fine."

"Oh, yeah I forgot. Sorry…look the healers haven't really filled me in—" As Ron shrugged and tried to cover for his mistake, a nurse knocked on the door and walked into the room. She was an older witch, maybe in her sixties, wearing a starched white uniform with a matching white cap over her faded gold hair, which was pulled back in a large bun at the nape of her neck. She was short, pudgy, with a nice face and shining eyes.

"Hello young Mr. Weasley," She said in a sing-song voice, "And how are you this fine afternoon?"

"Fine Miss Mabel," Ron replied, glancing at Hermione and rolling his eyes.

"That's fine!" Miss Mabel replied. She walked around the room, opening the windows, checking his charts, fluffing his already fluffed pillows, humming and smiling the whole time. Then, for the first time, she noticed that 'Young Mr. Weasley' had guests. "Oh, hello!" She said in the same sing-song voice.

"Hello,"

"Hi,"

"Hello," Hermione, Harry, and Ginny responded. She bustled around for a few more minutes, pulled a wand out from her sleeve, and acted as though she was stirring something in the air. A spoon popped out of nowhere and a brownish-purple liquid came pouring from her wand.

"Here's your medicine, Young Mr. Weasley," She said, then shoved it into his mouth. After she pulled out the spoon he made a face, then gagged. She stood grinning at him until he'd swallowed it. "There we go! I'm sure we feel better already!" She sang, then turned and walked out of the room.

"Ugh!" Ron gagged again, then pointed at a pitcher of water on his bedside table. "Can you—'Mione, can you give me that?" Hermione reached over and grabbed a glass, poured some water in it, and handed it to Ron. He quickly drained the glass, then handed it back to Hermione, who put it back on the table. He smiled at her as she sat back on the bed next to him. "Thanks."

"No problem," She said, taking his hand in hers again. "Do you need anything else?'

"No, thanks though. Can we get back to—er—last month?" Hermione glanced at Harry awkwardly.

"S-Sure. What do you want to know?"

"It doesn't feel like it's been a month…I guess that's because I've been knocked out the whole time." He stopped, yawned, and shook his head.

"Ron, maybe you should get some rest." Hermione said, brushing a piece of hair off his forehead.

"I'm fine. I want to know what happened." He said firmly, stubbornly. Hermione hesitated before letting go of his hand, walking over to the window and looking out with her arms folded over her chest. Ginny jumped up and went to her, putting her arm around her waist comfortingly and leaning her head on Hermione's shoulder. Ron looked at Harry quizzically.

"What happened?"

"Well…you see it's like this. After A-Amy did the Cruciatus Curse on you, Malfoy knocked me out, so I don't really know what—" He tried to explain. Ginny left Hermione's side and walked over to her brother's bedside.

"After you both passes out, Hermione went ballistic. She started screaming at Amy, calling her an evil, heartless bitch and stuff. Well, Amy didn't like that, so she went over to Hermione and pointed her wand at her, threatening her and stuff. Well, before I knew it, Hermione had her wand out, I had the Silencer lifted off of me, and we were attacking Amy and Malfoy. Harry woke up just as Hermione tried to hex Amy and she got away. She and Harry chased Amy, but they ran off into the woods." She stopped—took a breath, glanced at Hermione and went on. "Then Harry ran to the castle and got Dumbledore and he met us out on the grounds. He conjured up a stretcher and took you to the Hospital Wing, then here to St. Mungo's. You've been here ever since."

"But what happened to Malfoy and Amy?" Ron asked, dreading their answer. Hermione turned from the window and walked back to Ron.

"They went to the Dark Side. They joined Voldemort. Then Amy tried to have me killed. She attacked me two weeks ago when Ginny and I were in Hogsmeade. But it doesn't matter, I'm fine. I swear it. So is Ginny. They've caught Amy—she's going to Azkaban. Malfoy—they found Malfoy, dead, on the side of the road in London. It turns out Amy killed him because he was threatening to tell me about the attack. He didn't want to have me killed, surprisingly." Ron stared at her with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"I'm sorry. This is my fault. It never would have happened if I hadn't have started dating her."

"But if you hadn't started dating her, I wouldn't be so proud of you for turning her down. I wouldn't appreciate your love as much. We might not even be together. And if you hadn't of broken up with Amy, Harry might not of had his heart broken, and Ginny wouldn't have been there to pick up the pieces." She walked over to Ron and knelt by his bed. "You're the reason we're all so happy, don't you see?"

"Thanks Mate," Harry muttered as he walked over and put his arm around Ginny.

"Thank you Ron." Ginny said, smiling happily as she cuddled into Harry. He turned and looked down at Hermione. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Love." She whispered before standing and kissing him on the lips. He smiled and squeezed her hand. Within a few moments, Amy and Malfoy were forgotten as Harry pinched Ginny's waist and they started having a tickle fight. As Ginny gasped and squealed, Ron laughed. Hermione stretched out next to him on the bed and he put his arms around her.

"Thank you Hermione."

"For what?"

"You're the reason our story is so special. You're the one thing that everyone was fighting for." He said, kissing her forehead. "I love you.'

"I love you too Ron Weasley. I love you too."

(A/N: It's done. Thank God Almighty. I thought this story would never end. Ugh. Tell me what you think please—I know it's not my best work, but tell me what I could have done to make it better if you didn't like it, and if you did like it, thank you so much. You've been great about everything. Goodbye!! Happy Potter Days!)


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